Vladimir Sosnovsky ( uk, Володимир Сосновський; 1922–1990) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

artist, known as a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and realist

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. He was born in

Nova Ushytsia Nova Ushytsia ( uk, Нова Ушиця, yi, נײַ־אושיצע, russian: Новая Ушица) is an urban-type settlement in Kamianets-Podilskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Nova Ushytsia se ...

, Khmelnitzky Region, Ukraine. In 1928 his family moved to

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative ...

. As a child he showed a love of drawing, and his parents sent him to art school. In 1939, he joined the

Grekov Odesa Art School The Grekov Odesa Art School ( ua, Одеське художнє училище імені Митрофана Грекова; abbreviated ОХУ) is a secondary education institution in Odesa, Ukraine. It is the oldest arts school in the country. ...

, but with the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after completing only two years of study, he was asked to serve at the front. On his return in 1945, he continued his studies under well-known artist Leonid Mutchnik. In 1948, he entered the

Kyiv Art Institute Kyiv Art Institute (KHI) uk, Київський художній інститут, russian: Киевский художественный институт (1924-1930) was the Ukrainian state art and technical high school which is the historical inh ...

and graduated in 1954. He then worked as a deputy director at the Odesa Western and Oriental Art Museum. From 1956 he taught painting at the Odesa Theatre and Art College until his death in 1990. Sosnovsky did not promote his art or himself, or try to be a fashionable painter. Obsessed with painting, he spent his free time painting ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

''. He loved nature and painted it obsessively. Sincerity was Sosnovsky' main characteristic, his motto and his goal. Touched by Sosnovsky's art—his lyricism and alive romanticism—a well-known modern artist said after visiting his posthumous exhibition, "I've began to doubt my own methods after seeing Sosnovsky's Realism. I admit my defeat."

External links

Short biography at ''The Russian Art Gallery''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sosnovsky, Vladimir 1922 births 1990 deaths Landscape painters Russian male artists 20th-century Ukrainian painters 20th-century Ukrainian male artists Ukrainian male painters Soviet artists